West Bradford land-development plan draws a crowd

WEST BRADFORD — Representatives for Embreeville Redevelopment LP introduced a plan to develop the Embreeville Fields for residential and commercial uses Tuesday night.

During a workshop for township supervisors, residents filled the meeting room to learn about the proposal for the 225-acre property at 1818 Strasburg Road.

The site was at one time the home of the state-run Embreeville School and Hospital. Prior to becoming the school and hospital, the property was a county poor house in the 1800s, and it later became the Chester County Home and Hospital for the Insane. It was taken over by the state in 1938 and closed in 1980.

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The property includes 16 buildings and the gravesite of Indian Hannah, the last of the Lenni-Lenape Indians to live in Chester County. It is mostly located in West Bradford, but 15 acres are in Newlin. About 175 acres of the land are vacant.

Hellings Holdings LLC was awarded the property for slightly more than $1 million and was the only bidder for the property.

While the land was purchased under Ken Hellings’ company, he said the decision to bid was a joint venture between him and two others who were interested in developing the property and they formed Embreeville Redevelopment.

According to Dennis Glackin, principal land planner for the project, plans for the land include mostly residential development with 13 acres of the property expected to be developed for commercial uses. About 1,000 new houses are being proposed for the site, with about five homes per acre planned for the development.

To develop the property, Hellings and his partners must apply to township supervisors to have the property rezoned. Because it is currently zoned for institutional and mixed uses, the site has certain uses allowed by right: agricultural, educational, municipal and office space, and park and recreation. Residential use, however, is not permitted.

According to township officials, no developments feature a mixed use of residential and commercial in West Bradford.

“Zoning on the property will have to change in some manner because it is not institutional anymore,” Glackin said. “But it’s up for the township to decide.”

The developer will also have to tear down the existing buildings and deal with environmental cleanup because many of the buildings are asbestos-laden. The plan is expected to cost about $10.63 million to make the site environmentally safe.

According to Brian L. Nagle, attorney the developer, the project is in the planning process and some details have yet to be finalized, such as how much the homes will cost.

According to Glackin, of the land planning firm Glackin Thomas Panzak, the existing playing fields would remain undisturbed by the redevelopment and will continue to offer an active recreation site for the community.

For the past 26 years, the West Bradford Youth Association has used the fields for soccer, lacrosse and baseball games. The association paid the state $1 per year for use of the land, but it will lose the right to use the fields once the purchase is finalized.

According to Nagle, Embreeville Redevelopment is the “equitable owner,” with the sale expected to be finalized on April 29.

If the association cannot come to an agreement with the developer over use of the Embreeville site, the many divisions of West Bradford Youth Association soccer will have to look to fields spread out around the area instead of one central location.

The announcement to place the property up for auction came on July 31, 2012, when the commonwealth decided to remove the property from its inventory.

According to township administration, the property was appraised in 2011 at negative $6.8 million due to the necessary environmental clean-up costs.